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Samsung Launches 8GB Music Phone - SCH-B570

Panasonic Unveils New SD Audio Players and SD Micro Stereo Systems

ATI Unleashes Radeon X1950 XTX

Logitech Unveils ChillStream Controller For PC

AMD Next Generation Processor Technology Slides



Samsung Launches 8GB Music Phone - SCH-B570

The latest Samsung’s B570 allows users the largest storage capacity for a handset with the built-in 8GB hard disc drive which can store about 1,600 MP3 files (4MB/song) or 16 Personal Media Player (PMP) movies (400MB/file) or more than 20,000 digital photos (300K/file).

True to its name, the music phone offers sophisticated audio functions. The features such as "5.1-channel virtual stereo", "echo effect" get users closer to the quality of home theater systems.

The B570 also supports "picture in picture" (PIP) function which allows the users to watch satellite digital multimedia broadcasts and PMP movies simultaneously.

Another distinctive feature for the SCH-B570 is the "Golf manager", allowing users to search the information of the golf course in Korea and strategies for playing any particular course. It will also enable the users to manage the score and calculate the necessary driving distance from a particular tee.

Samsung also presented the "motion recognition capability" by introducing the new "morning call motion detector snooze alarm". When the alarm clock rings, users can turn it off simply by shaking the phone, then alarm will automatically alert again a few minutes later.

The SCH-B570 will be released in Korea by end of this month and the price will be around $800.

SCH-B570 Specifications:

  • CDMA 2000 1XEVDO
  • 2-megapixel Camera
  • 1.98" 240x320 262K Color TF main display
  • 8GB hard drive
  • Satellite DMB / Picture In Picture / Personal Media Player
  • Motion Recognition Technology / GPS
  • VOD/MOD/MP3
  • Document Viewer / Mobile printing / TV-out
  • 5.1-channel stereo sound (EQ, 3D Sound)
  • 112 x 48 x 19.9 mm, 130 g

Source: Samsung

Panasonic Unveils New SD Audio Players and SD Micro Stereo Systems

Panasonic introduced today new D-snap SD digital audio players, the SV-SD800N and SV-SD400V, and two D-dock SD micro stereo systems, the SC-SX850 and SC-SX450. The new D-snap audio players work in tandem with the new D-dock micro stereo systems to offer automatic pick up and fast recharging. By placing the new D-snap audio player in a D-dock stereo port, users can listen to a music sequence from the point of pausing without restarting from the beginning. The docking function also enables quick recharging. A 10-minute recharge can run the players for three hours. When fully charged, the players can continuously play up to 30 hours.

The SV-SD800N and SV-SD400V audio players come with closed-type insidephones that are shaped to fit into the ears perfectly so that they simultaneously shut out noise and prevent sound leaks. The earphones for the SV-SD800N feature noise cancellers that reduce ambient noise.

The two models support the new SD high capacity (SDHC) specifications. When a 4 GB SDHC card - the largest capacity currently available - is used, up to 66 hours and 29 minutes of music or 999 songs can be stored in the 128 kbps mode. The new audio players come with a 128 MB SD Memory Cards.

They also offer "zapping" playback of the songs, enabling users to check newly recorded songs easily. Users can zap through the climaxes of all new songs recorded on the SD Memory Card. The players are compact (35.1 x 86.9 x 10.2 mm) and light-weight (38.5 g with the battery).

The SC-SX850 D-dock stereo system has a 160 GB built-in hard disk drive, while the SC-SX450 has an 80 GB one. The two micro stereos offer the copying capability of 12X speed from the CD to HDD. They can also transfer the data at up to 16X speed from the HDD to SD Memory Card.

These two new stereos can automatically identify and input song titles recorded in the analog mode. The stereos incorporate a database of 350,000 album titles so that users can obtain title information without accessing to the Internet.

The four new SD audio products will be available on September 8 in Japan.

Source: Panasonic

ATI Unleashes Radeon X1950 XTX

ATI announced its new flagship graphics card family, the Radeon X1950 series, including Radeon X1950 XTX and Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition. On September 14th, both the Radeon X1950 XTX and Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition will ship from retailers, system integrators, with an estimated street price of US$449 or ˆ399 (VAT included) for each card. The Radeon X1950 family will also be available shortly from leading OEM vendors, including Dell.

The Radeon X1950 employs the latest GDDR4 memory. Accompanying the addition of GDDR4, the Radeon X1950 also introduces a new fansink that results in cooler, quieter operation.

Making use of ATI's Avivo technology, the Radeon X1950 family can decode the latest high-definition video formats. The Radeon X1950 family is also capable of displaying one billion colors, or 10-bit throughout the graphics pipeline. Lastly, the Radeon X1950 is also HDCP-compliant, including a built-in EEPROM and HDCP key.

  Core Speed Memory Speed Pixel Pipelines Vertex Pipelines
Radeon X1950 XTX 650 MHz 1.55 GHz 48 8
Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition 625 MHz 1.45 GHz 48 8

Source: ATI

Logitech Unveils ChillStream Controller For PC

Logitech unveiled a new game controller with a built-in fan-based cooling system, designed to keep the hands of gamers cool and dry — even during intense competition.

Logitech's ChillStream Technology includes a built-in 40mm fan that circulates up to 3.41 cubic feet of air every minute, while generating little noise. Because of the fan's compact size, Logitech can deliver the ChillStream feature in a standard-size controller. Three narrow vents on each side of the controller push air directly onto the four fingers, the base of the thumb and the palm of the hand — the three areas of the hand that need cooling most. The air stream has three settings — continuous, interval, or off. In the interval mode, the air stays on for 15 seconds, then turns off for 30 seconds. The air vents are recessed from the surface of the controller and rubber linings surrounding the vents are flush with the surface — making the vents barely noticeable to the touch during gaming.

The plug-and-play, full-speed USB Logitech ChillStream controller for PC works on Windows XP computers (with the latest service pack), and will work with Windows Vista when it becomes available. The controller features Logitech's patented floating D-pad, which uses four points of contact instead of a single pivot point — a design that resists side-to-side tipping inherent in other controllers, making the controller more precise. The controller's analog stick has been machine-tested to perform at least one million circular revolutions, ensuring that it can handle the rigors of gaming over a long period of time. The Logitech ChillStream controller for PC will be available in the U.S. and in Europe, beginning in September. It has a suggested retail price of $39.99 in the U.S.

Source: Logitech

AMD Next Generation Processor Technology Slides

[H] Enthusiast obtained some official AMD slides that outline AMD's upcoming Quad-Core technology that has recently taped out. This tech will be the heart of next-gen Opteron and Athlon 64 FX processors.

As you might know, AMD has recently taped out its Quad-Core Opteron. AMD has shared with our colleagues that they can certainly count on the next-gen Athlon 64 mirroring the Quad-Core Opteron design less a few HyperTransport bus connects.

As expected, AMD's next-gen desktop technology will first be showcased with in the yet-to-be announced Quad-Core Athlon 64 FX. At recent demonstrations of the AMD 4x4, Quad-Core has certainly been referenced as a desktop part. The slide below shows you the map of the upcoming Quad-Core Opteron as well as the Athlon 64 FX.

Certainly the highlights here are 65nm SOI which should bring power usage down even further, "enhanced" Instructions per Clock, and a totally redesigned cache system that introduces a shared L3 cache. And most importantly the Quad-Core design.

One of the most drastic changes that will be recognized by the enthusiast is that we have an additional caching unit identified as "L3 cache."

This L3 cache is shared by each of the four cores and allows for some latency issues to be addressed in a four core environment. It has been noted to the L3 can be expanded in size as well.

Behind the power of four cores there are some very intelligent power and clock scaling systems as well.

Each core will carry its own PLL or "clock-gen." This will allow the Quad-Core Opteron and Athlon 64 FX processors to scale down their power consumption very intelligently from being fully loaded.

Source: [H] Enthusiast

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